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In the world of online video, Blip.tv operates in a specific niche. Rather than compete with a powerful site like YouTube, Blip.tv has focused on web series video content. This isn't the site where anyone signs up and publishes snippets from their daily lives. Instead, Blip.tv is where businesses, content producers, and media organizations go to publish original, serial video content. However, Blip.tv has grown since it launched in 2005, and that growth led to a recent rebranding that is featured in this new article from the AYTM Branding the Right Way series. You can view previous stories in the Branding the Right Way series by following the links at the end of this post. Now, it's time to take a closer look at the rebranding of Blip.tv.
From Blip.tv to Blip
According to a press release from Chermayeff & Geismar, the agency that designed the new Blip identity, the primary goal of the rebranding was to develop an identity that would position Blip.tv as the "premier, next-wave, web-based network for original series."
Unlike the amateur video content published on YouTube and the traditional television programming available on television network websites, Blip.tv wanted to own its position as the provider for original web-series video through the Blip.tv network. The first step Chermayen & Geismar suggested was dropping ".tv" from the brand name and securing the Blip.com domain name as a central source for the brand's online identity.
The strategy behind this decision was discussed in the Chermayen & Geismar press release announcing the launch of the new Blip identity:
“Abbreviating the name to just ‘blip’ allowed us to create a focused mark with nothing but a slight interruption — a blip — with the dot of the ‘i’ shifted slightly to the right,” says partner and designer Sagi Haviv. “And without the explanatory modifier ‘TV,’ the company can now not only express a more confident image, but ultimately even claim exclusive ownership of the word “blip” as a trade name (like Target or Showtime).”
Sometimes the simplest change is the most effective, and that's certainly the case with the rebranding of Blip.tv to Blip. Dropping the ".tv" extension from the brand name and the actual domain opens the brand up for expansions that will surely sustain it in the future and allow it to evolve with the changing online video landscape. There truly is so much that can be done creatively with the new Blip identity, as you'll see in the following section.
Blip in Execution and Practical Use
Where the Blip rebranding effort truly shines is the brand identity execution and practical use. The old and new logos are shown below. The new Blip logo is extremely simple, matching the name. I'm an advocate of simple logo design, and Blip is exactly that with nothing to truly distinguish it except for the skewed dot in the i. You can check out the Brand New blog for a designer's perspective on the new Blip brand identity.
Now, take a look at the new identity in practical use. The examples below show how powerful the simple but bold wordmark logo can be on signage, hats, mugs, a smartphone screen filled with app icons, and in comparison to its competitors.
I think the image above that displays the Blip logo along with competitor logos shows just how well this simple identity execution works. The new Blip logo stands out as unique but also fits into the competitive landscape. It's a perfect blending of uniqueness without falling so far outside of the box that consumers within the existing marketplace won't accept it.
I can see the new Blip identity being used consistently across media and industries opening the doors for the brand to grow in the future. Kudos to Blip and Chermayen & Geismar on a simple but powerful rebranding effort. In a time when simple brand identity has taken a back seat to overly-stylized "Web 2.0" logos, it's great to see this type of tried-and-true design making a come back.More from the Branding the Right Way series:
Images:stock.xchng,Chermayen & Geismar
